Zach McKinstry is back.
The Detroit Tigers activated McKinstry, a 31-year-old utility player, from the injured list Tuesday, May 5, before the second of three games against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park. He started at third base and batted eighth.
To make room, shortstop Zack Short was designated for assignment after just two days on the roster.
“I’m excited to get him back because of the quality of the player, but also because of his versatility,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Tuesday’s game. “He’s one of our guys we lean on a ton. Getting him back in the mix is awesome for us. We’re chipping away at that injured list.”
McKinstry hasn’t played for the Tigers since April 15, when he suffered injuries on three separate plays against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.
In that game, McKinstry exited in the seventh inning with a bruised hip after getting tripped while charging a ground ball, plus two more injuries in the third inning: jamming his shoulder on defense at third base and scraping his chest on a slide into home plate.
“It was a mixture of all three,” McKinstry said before Tuesday’s game, following three games on a rehab assignment. “I think I tore my oblique on the slide into home.”
McKinstry has been recovering from what the Tigers described as left hip and abdominal inflammation.
The injury was more significant than described.
“This was a unique one,” Hinch said. “The way it was described to me, it wasn’t a car crash, but he had multiple collisions that created some stress in that area – more so than the traditional rotational oblique issues.”
As McKinstry explained, he suffered a severe oblique tear off his pelvic bone and thought he could miss six to eight weeks, but the location of the tear allowed for a quicker-than-expected rehab process.
Six days after the injury, McKinstry reached 80% of his regular sprint speed. From there, he had to build up to game speed for all baseball activities.
“It was the best place to do it,” McKinstry said. “It wasn’t a baseball move with an intercostal strain. It wasn’t swinging or throwing that hurt it. It was sliding. I was able to throw like immediately afterward. It was a pretty quick recovery.”
In 2026, McKinstry is hitting .209 with one home run, three walks and 10 strikeouts across 14 games, posting a .586 OPS. He has logged 48 innings at second base, 33 innings in right field and 22⅓ innings at third base.
McKinstry appeared in three games on his rehab assignment.
He completed one game with Low-A Lakeland and two games with Triple-A Toledo.
After that, the Tigers activated him.
“Nice to get back in quick fashion,” McKinstry said. “I’m happy to be here.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Zach McKinstry returns to Tigers from injured list; Zack Short cut
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
